Sudden change in skin pigmentation? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

alisonJ · 02-03-2006, 11:27 AM

Hi everyone. I thought I would share an experience I had with Edie about 8 months ago. Her skin is very light pink, almost white, on her belly (and her belly is very cute by the way). One day I noticed that the color of her skin had changed ALMOST OVERNIGHT to a darker color. Grayish-tan, I guess. It did not look bad, and the skin looked healthy otherwise. I was alarmed because the change was so sudden, and I took her to the vet.

The vet first said that the skin tone did not look abnormal to her. But because it had changed so suddenly, I persisted. She said that CUSHING's DISEASE can cause darkening of the skin, and she asked me a whole bunch of other questions to see if Edie had other Cushings symptoms. She did not. Everything else appeared normal. She also thought it could be an allergy, but Edie was not scratching or itching.

Because Edie had no discomfort at all, I decided that maybe she needed some vitamins that would supply the omega fatty acids. I bought Vitacaps for small dogs and cats from Drs. Smith and Foster. It is heavy on the omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids as well as Vitamin A, E, and C. Edie takes one capsule a day and she loves them.

After about 4 months of this vitamin, her skin has returned to the nice light pink color. I still don't know what cause the pigmentation change. Perhaps she was allergic to something. I am keeping her on these vitamins, and I recommend them to anyone with Yorkies who have sensitive skin.

Patti · 02-03-2006, 01:06 PM

That's good to know! Thanks

SnowWa · 02-05-2006, 02:01 PM

Alison -

How can you be sure that it was the vitamins that changed her skin color?

I have run a lot of controlled studies in Cardiac and other research programs
- and we would never be able to make the assumption that you have made.

We would need to study at least 20 dogs with your pigmentation problem - and put half of them on a placebo and the other half on the vitamins that you gave your dog. At the end of four months, we would have to assess and compare the results.

Often, the results are surprising. What if half of the dogs had their skin return to "pink" -- and we saw that half of these dogs were on the vitamins and half weren't. This would dispell any notion that it was the vitamins that caused the change.

Anyway - you also could be right - it's just that using only one case often causes us to assume causes that aren't correct. It is possible that your pups skin reverted to pink for reasons other than the vitamins.

Just a thought! (Guess it's the "research gene" in me.)

Carol Jean

alisonJ · 02-05-2006, 06:12 PM

Carol Jean,
I don't know that it was the vitamins that changed the skin color back. I don't even know why her skin changed color in the first place, although I suspect it was allergies and not Cushings. I agree that there would have to be some testing done to know for sure what cause the color change AND what changed it back to the original healthy pink color.

I do know this--
1--something happened to Edie's skin color. It changed from pink to brownish-gray.
2--that the vitamins in these particular capsules are good for the skin (omega 3 and omega 6)
3--after a few weeks her skin color returned to normal.

I just thought that if someone else has experienced this wierd phenomenon (wierd because it happened so quickly) that this is perhaps something they should try.

SnowWa · 02-05-2006, 08:59 PM

Allison - You could be right!

Carol Jean

SnowWa · 02-05-2006, 09:01 PM

Allison - You could be right!

And, if a lot of people have this problem, give their dogs the same vitamins, and have the same outcome - that would certainly be great!

Carol Jean

sabrinasmom · 02-05-2006, 10:37 PM

Don't want to worry you but, - Sabrina is allergic to chicken that if she gets some - her skin changes color. It doesn't get bumps or hives or anything, but if I have gotten her something new that has chicken in it and didn't notice after a few days she'll start getting kind of dry skin as well as the skin changing color (her's goes a rusty color).

My vet used to raise Yorkies and he says a chicken allergy isn't uncommon. His stud would go into shock from chicken.

alisonJ · 02-06-2006, 04:06 AM

It's amazing how sensitive dogs can be to certain foods, isn't it? Not just Yorkies, but all dogs. And often these allergies seem to manifest themselves in the body's largest organ, the skin. I am kind of fascinated by it.

Since Edie's skin appeares to be back to normal, I think we had a good outcome. Whether or not it was related to the vitamins, I will never know. I knew it wouldn't hurt her, though, which is why I tried them.

Edie's food does have chicken in it. I suppose if this condition occurs again I will be going back to the vet and trying other foods.

02-03-2006, 11:27 AM	#1
alisonJ YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 1,840	Sudden change in skin pigmentation? Hi everyone. I thought I would share an experience I had with Edie about 8 months ago. Her skin is very light pink, almost white, on her belly (and her belly is very cute by the way). One day I noticed that the color of her skin had changed ALMOST OVERNIGHT to a darker color. Grayish-tan, I guess. It did not look bad, and the skin looked healthy otherwise. I was alarmed because the change was so sudden, and I took her to the vet. The vet first said that the skin tone did not look abnormal to her. But because it had changed so suddenly, I persisted. She said that CUSHING's DISEASE can cause darkening of the skin, and she asked me a whole bunch of other questions to see if Edie had other Cushings symptoms. She did not. Everything else appeared normal. She also thought it could be an allergy, but Edie was not scratching or itching. Because Edie had no discomfort at all, I decided that maybe she needed some vitamins that would supply the omega fatty acids. I bought Vitacaps for small dogs and cats from Drs. Smith and Foster. It is heavy on the omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids as well as Vitamin A, E, and C. Edie takes one capsule a day and she loves them. After about 4 months of this vitamin, her skin has returned to the nice light pink color. I still don't know what cause the pigmentation change. Perhaps she was allergic to something. I am keeping her on these vitamins, and I recommend them to anyone with Yorkies who have sensitive skin.

02-03-2006, 01:06 PM	#2
Patti Donating YT 30K Club Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Illinois Posts: 35,509 Blog Entries: 6	That's good to know! Thanks __________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : RIP Nikki; RIP Maya;RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html

02-05-2006, 02:01 PM	#3
SnowWa YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,992	Alison - How can you be sure that it was the vitamins that changed her skin color? I have run a lot of controlled studies in Cardiac and other research programs - and we would never be able to make the assumption that you have made. We would need to study at least 20 dogs with your pigmentation problem - and put half of them on a placebo and the other half on the vitamins that you gave your dog. At the end of four months, we would have to assess and compare the results. Often, the results are surprising. What if half of the dogs had their skin return to "pink" -- and we saw that half of these dogs were on the vitamins and half weren't. This would dispell any notion that it was the vitamins that caused the change. Anyway - you also could be right - it's just that using only one case often causes us to assume causes that aren't correct. It is possible that your pups skin reverted to pink for reasons other than the vitamins. Just a thought! (Guess it's the "research gene" in me.) Carol Jean __________________ http://tinypic.com/ipxhmb.jpg A Yorkie is worth a thousand words.

02-05-2006, 08:59 PM	#5
SnowWa YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,992	Allison - You could be right! Carol Jean __________________ http://tinypic.com/ipxhmb.jpg A Yorkie is worth a thousand words.

02-05-2006, 09:01 PM	#6
SnowWa YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,992	Allison - You could be right! And, if a lot of people have this problem, give their dogs the same vitamins, and have the same outcome - that would certainly be great! Carol Jean __________________ http://tinypic.com/ipxhmb.jpg A Yorkie is worth a thousand words.

02-05-2006, 06:12 PM	#4
alisonJ YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 1,840	Carol Jean, I don't know that it was the vitamins that changed the skin color back. I don't even know why her skin changed color in the first place, although I suspect it was allergies and not Cushings. I agree that there would have to be some testing done to know for sure what cause the color change AND what changed it back to the original healthy pink color. I do know this-- 1--something happened to Edie's skin color. It changed from pink to brownish-gray. 2--that the vitamins in these particular capsules are good for the skin (omega 3 and omega 6) 3--after a few weeks her skin color returned to normal. I just thought that if someone else has experienced this wierd phenomenon (wierd because it happened so quickly) that this is perhaps something they should try.

02-05-2006, 10:37 PM	#7
sabrinasmom YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: texas Posts: 769	Don't want to worry you but, - Sabrina is allergic to chicken that if she gets some - her skin changes color. It doesn't get bumps or hives or anything, but if I have gotten her something new that has chicken in it and didn't notice after a few days she'll start getting kind of dry skin as well as the skin changing color (her's goes a rusty color). My vet used to raise Yorkies and he says a chicken allergy isn't uncommon. His stud would go into shock from chicken. __________________ Frankie (the MOM), Sabrina, and Elvira

02-06-2006, 04:06 AM	#8
alisonJ YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 1,840	It's amazing how sensitive dogs can be to certain foods, isn't it? Not just Yorkies, but all dogs. And often these allergies seem to manifest themselves in the body's largest organ, the skin. I am kind of fascinated by it. Since Edie's skin appeares to be back to normal, I think we had a good outcome. Whether or not it was related to the vitamins, I will never know. I knew it wouldn't hurt her, though, which is why I tried them. Edie's food does have chicken in it. I suppose if this condition occurs again I will be going back to the vet and trying other foods.